Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1887-07-15


derry-that is such an interesting, old, his
torical spot-tsen I may 60 on to Glasgow.
Don't think will be out Of the British isles
all the time I'm abroad-certainly not farther
than France-and l shall only write lust
when feel like it. There's more than
enough in Great Britain to occupy all the
time.'
The conversation soon became purely per-
sonaL Mr.. Townsend recounted many inter
esting incidents of life on the eastern shore OF
Maryland, where his parents resided and
where his father was a Methodist preacher
for fifty years. "By the way" he added "the
nice old ladies who talk woman suffrage to
me want to know something about my
mother. The phrenologists claim that in
herit the qualities of my father, but they're
wrong; my father was entirely too easy too
good tempered. He never wanted to OPPOSE
any one much. But my mother was in her way
a fghter-that is, Sue stood up for her rights
and would defend her ideas with snap. Now.
my father preached the gospel fifty years,
and yet when on his death bed he said nothing
about bis religion almost nothing about go
Ing to heaven-all his talk was about going
to meet his wife. 1t makes me smile some
times to think of the prejudices the good.
easy man had absorbed in Maryland and Del
aware. Why, he thought-and l believed
it implicitly when was boy-that an Abo-
litionist was a sort of moral monster. an
enemy of God and man. He was altogether
too mild character for the heroic
times of the war. and actually wrote
a letter to Abraham Lincoln on the losses and
sufferngs of the good people on the eastern
shore of Maryland. l have often thought
how Lincoln must have laughed at the idea of
calling his attention to such trifes at such n
time--that is, If he ever saw the letter. Bv
the way, your friend to mel Capt Hooper.
delegate from Utah, was from the eastern
shore. 1 introduced my father to him at
w ashington as an old Marylander, and bs
charmed the old gentleman After
we left said to father: ''That is big Nor
mon-one of Brigham Youngs converts
The old gentleman was paralyz ed for mo.
inent, and Great Godr was all he could saw
-.
The question later turning on the compen-
satlon OF newspaper men, Mr.. Townsend gave
us the figures on his earnings, which included
500 week from The Cincinnati Enquirer.
lust at present he is banking big part of
his savings in his fine estate at South Moun-
tain, Maryland, on which he has erected a
very fine stone residence which might be
showed us l should judge the castle to COM
Dine the Gothic and Moorish styles. He has
also erected Il lodge, smaller than the castle
out rather more handsome. To examine
,hese pictures we had to go to the library.
md embraced the opportunity to scrutinize
his workshop of the most prolific writer of
he age. 1t was curiosity of disorder and
Nme-tenthS Of the books seemed
o be such as were bought on impulse or to meet
| sudden necessity; so they ranged over every
lyle OF treatment of every modern tonic
3nt the books of reference and that class
Il works which college boys call "plursn
cribs" and ponies Short, indirect and
heap methods of getting at an authors con-
lusions) were all in easy reach, and their ap-
'earance showed frequent use. 1t is a COM |
non practice with Gath" to take some ex
austlve, II not exhausting, work, in which |
he author has condensed years of labor and |
oli 1t down to one crisp and snappy letter.
his is little hard on the original toiler in
he mines Of knowledge: but as the general
ublic will not read the learned work it is
robably better that they should get a con-
ensation Of it in their daily paper. As
ost Mr. Townsend is genially unique. He
yves good listener, and as that character il
atural to Mr.. Book walter and can he as
lned by me with some effort, we got along
cry pleasantly; and as the accessories to
were supplied in plenty, the last
ours talk was wholly personal. He was not
all backward in giving the most emphatic
pinions about oil his contemporaries. but I
ecline to report what would certainly in
ease the demand for ear salve. 1t seemed
} me. moreover, that Mr.. Townsend had
een siynally unfortunate in the sort of men
2 had met since the war, or the habit of
'iticism had become second nature some
hat stronger than the first. ! fnlly agreed
'at he did not take after" that charitablv
inded old Methodist preacher of the eastern
lore of Maryland.
He has theory that this uation, covering
large area Of new country, is in danger Of
'conung 'cowardly commercial;r that az
o withdraw from foreign affairs we grow
ore provincial and will soon be given over
holly to money grubbing. He is therefore
! ardent defender Of Mr. Blaipe's South
policy.
But. after all, it is as great literary
orker that Mr.. Townsend is most interesting
Americans He has certainly supplied
ore reading matter to more people, given ,
Q public more Of the raw material for ,
ought than any other man Of this age.
I'd so an evening with such man was as a
cat oasis in my journey over the dry lands .
journalism n pr.n,n ,